The Darkside: Key to Powerful Revelations

Kirk: Are there any more tips you wish to give on the step
four, "Allowing
What I Receive To Be Present?" It seems that the essence of this step is to give yourself the space and permission
to allow whatever shows up to be present.

Alana: That's correct. In this step of allowing, it sounds very easy, but it can really be quite
difficult. Here the inner critic voice can come in and bombard us with the "shoulds" and the various expectations
can become ignited as well. We have a grand opportunity in this stage of discovery to reflect on all the expectations
that exist within us; ones that have been adopted from others as truth, as well as the ones that have evolved through
conditioning and environment. A contractive or reflective state is often the precursor to expanding into a state
of allowing.

Kirk: I think that the most powerful revelations I have ever had from doing these types of processes
is the information that seemed to come from the so called darkside. It was hard to acknowledge some of the things
that came to mind; emotions that I could have easily judged as selfish, angry, or bitter. But, as I let them be present
and got to know these parts of me that were generating these types of experiences, I found that they weren't really
my darkside at all. The core intention of these parts of myself was to bring forth values that were just as important
as any of my other values. The only reason I would have judged them as my darkside is because I hadn't done step
four. I hadn't allowed myself to be present with whatever I received.

An example of this is a miner, rock collector, or gemologist. At first they discover something that on the outside
looks like a piece of craggy old rock. But as they are able to investigate further into the craggy rock, they often
find a valuable and beautiful gem. So in the same way, discovering and then allowing what once appeared on the surface
to be dark (bad, wrong), showed me some very important parts of myself--some new gems.

What kind of encouragement can you offer to people to help them embrace all aspects of their being including what
they might feel is their darkside?

Alana: I suggest a person create a "bless you" statement, or even a mantra that they can say to themselves
on a daily basis. A couple of examples are, "Every step I take, and every action I make, is a step on the path
to discovery." Or, "I am a loving human being who is here to learn and grow."

I encourage people to come up with whatever mantra statements reflect kindness, love, and acceptance while pointing
to realization. Embracing compassion and forgiveness is one of the universal principals that connects us to the truth
of who we are. Embracing the darkside is also about embracing our full spiritual being.

Kirk: Can you shed any light on why many people find it so difficult to allow whatever they receive to be present?

Alana: Yes. People often find it so very difficult to surrender to what they are really good at. They often think
that if they did what they really enjoyed, they wouldn't succeed or they would be irresponsible. Collectively we
are so programmed to thinking that to be successful, life has to be hard. Human nature is so very familiar with struggling.
This step will help balance this misconception. This is what discovering your authentic self is really about, learning
how to release the vast amounts of life struggle so one can begin to really understand who they are. Stepping into
one's authentic nature creates a much easier and less stressful pattern of existence.